Fiber optic adapter with integrally molded ferrule alignment structure

ABSTRACT

A fiber optic adapter is disclosed. The fiber optic adapter includes a main body configured to receive a first fiber optic connector through a first end and a second fiber optic connector through a second end for mating with the first fiber optic connector. The adapter includes a ferrule alignment structure located within an axial cavity of the main body, the ferrule alignment structure including a sleeve mount and a ferrule sleeve, the sleeve mount including an axial bore and at least one latching hook extending from a center portion of the sleeve mount toward the first end of the main body and at least one latching hook extending from the center portion toward the second end of the main body, the latching hooks configured to flex for releasably latching the first and second fiber optic connectors to the fiber optic adapter. The sleeve mount and the main body of the fiber optic adapter are unitarily molded as a single piece and the ferrule sleeve is separately placed within the axial bore of the sleeve mount.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 14/499,594,now U.S. Pat. No. 8,992,095, which is a continuation of application Ser.No. 13/777,575, filed Feb. 26, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,845,205, whichis a continuation of application Ser. No. 12/548,121, filed Aug. 26,2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,382,382, which application claims the benefitof provisional application Ser. No. 61/092,166, filed Aug. 27, 2008,which applications are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to fiber optic adapters. Inparticular, the present disclosure relates to fiber optic adaptershaving bodies with integrally molded ferrule alignment features.

BACKGROUND

Fiber optics have revolutionized communication throughout the world.Fiber optics are generally thin strings of glass designed to carry lightwhich can be grouped together. With the increased use of fiber optics,it has become increasingly important to be able to connect anddisconnect fiber optic cables from various sources. Two fiber opticcables can be optically coupled so that they are in communication withone another by using well-known connectors and adapters, thereby puttingeach fiber optic cable in communication with the other. The connectorsare terminated to the end of each cable and then plugged into theadapters. The adapters normally include an opening at each end designedto receive the connectors. An example adapter for holding two SC-typemating connectors is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,663. Improvementsin the design and manufacture of fiber optic adapters are desirable.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates generally to fiber optic adaptersconfigured to receive fiber optic connectors having ferrules, whereinthe ferrule alignment structures of the adapters are integrally moldedas a unitary piece with the adapter body.

In one particular aspect, the present disclosure relates to a fiberoptic adapter including a main body configured to receive a first fiberoptic connector through a first end and a second fiber optic connectorthrough a second end for mating with the first fiber optic connector,the adapter including a ferrule alignment structure located within anaxial cavity of the main body, the ferrule alignment structure includinga sleeve mount and a ferrule sleeve, the sleeve mount including an axialbore and at least one latching hook extending from a center portion ofthe sleeve mount toward the first end of the main body and at least onelatching hook extending from the center portion toward the second end ofthe main body, the latching hooks configured to flex for releasablylatching the first and second fiber optic connectors to the fiber opticadapter, wherein the sleeve mount and the main body of the fiber opticadapter are unitarily molded as a single piece and the ferrule sleeve isseparately placed within the axial bore of the sleeve mount, the ferrulesleeve configured to receive and align ferrules of the first and secondfiber optic connectors.

A variety of additional inventive aspects will be set forth in thedescription that follows. The inventive aspects can relate to individualfeatures and combinations of features. It is to be understood that boththe foregoing general description and the following detailed descriptionare exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the broadinventive concepts upon which the embodiments disclosed herein arebased.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fiber optic adapter having featuresthat are examples of inventive aspects in accordance with the principlesof the present disclosure, the fiber optic adapter shown without the topand bottom cover panels thereof;

FIG. 1A illustrates the internal ferrule alignment features of the fiberoptic adapter of FIG. 1 separately from the main body of the fiber opticadapter;

FIG. 2 illustrates the fiber optic adapter of FIG. 1 with one of thecover panels exploded from the body of the fiber optic adapter;

FIG. 3 illustrates the fiber optic adapter of FIG. 2 with the opposingcover panel exploded from the body of the fiber optic adapter;

FIG. 4 is another perspective view of the fiber optic adapter of FIG. 1,with the cover panels mounted thereon;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the fiber optic adapter taken alongline 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the fiber optic adapter taken alongline 6-6 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an example fiber optic connector for usewith the fiber optic adapter of FIGS. 1-6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to examples of inventive aspects ofthe present disclosure which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be usedthroughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

Referring to FIGS. 1-6, a fiber optic adapter 10 having features thatare examples of inventive aspects in accordance with the principles ofthe present disclosure is shown. In the depicted embodiment, the fiberoptic adapter 10 is configured to intermate SC-type connectors, one ofwhich is shown in FIG. 7 of the present application and also shown anddescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,317,663 and 6,712,523, the entiredisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. However, itshould be noted that the SC-type fiber optic adapter 10 described hereinrepresents only one example embodiment of the inventive features of thedisclosure and that the inventive features may be applicable to adaptersconfigured to be used with other types of connectors (e.g., LC, LX.5,etc.). The inventive features should not be limited only to the specificembodiments described and illustrated herein.

Still referring to FIGS. 1-6, the fiber optic adapter 10 includes a mainbody 12 including an axial cavity 14 that is defined by a top side-wall16, a bottom side-wall 18, a right side-wall 20, and a left side-wall22. The axial cavity 14 of the main body 12 extends between a firstopening 24 and a second opening 26. Each opening 24, 26 is sized toreceive a fiber optic connector 100.

Since the embodiment of the adapter described herein is configured foruse with SC-type connectors, the main body 12 and the axial cavity 14are specifically sized and configured to accommodate SC-type connectors.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-3, the main body 12 of the fiber optic adapter10 includes a first opening 28 at the top side and a second opening 30at the bottom side thereof. As will be discussed in further detailbelow, the first and second openings 28, 30 allow the fiber opticadapter main body 12 and at least a portion of the internal ferrulealignment structures 31 (see FIG. 1A) that are located within the mainbody 12 to be injection-molded as a unitary piece. The first and secondopenings 28, 30 are covered by a pair of cover panels 32 after the fiberoptic adapter 10 has been unitarily molded. The cover panels 32 may beultrasonically welded to the main body 12 of the adapter 10.

Preferably, the first opening 28 and the second opening 30 are of thesame configuration such that the cover panels 32 used for the firstopening 28 and the second opening 30 are also of the same size andshape. In this manner, the cover panels 32 for both the top and thebottom sides of the adapter 10 can be produced using the same mold/tool,reducing manufacturing costs.

Still referring to FIGS. 1-3, located in the bottom side-wall 18 is akeyway 34 sized and shaped to receive a corresponding key 102 of anSC-type fiber optic connector 100 shown in FIG. 7 and discussed below.

Located on the exterior of the main body 12 are tabs 36, 38. Tab 36 islocated on right side-wall 20 and tab 38 is located on left side-wall22. The tabs 36, 38 are operative in supporting the adapter 10 on oragainst a planar surface such as that of a bulkhead. The main body 12also includes a flexible cantilever arm 40 on each of the rightside-wall 20 and left side-wall 22. The flexible cantilever arms 40define outwardly protruding tabs 42 that are configured to cooperatewith the tabs 36, 38 to capture the fiber optic adapter 10 against abulkhead. The tabs 42 of the cantilever arms 40 include ramped surfaces44 to facilitate insertion of the fiber optic adapter 10 into anaperture defined by the bulkhead structure. The ramped surfaces 44 causethe flexible cantilever arms 40 to flex inwardly as the adapter 10 ismoved passed the aperture of the bulkhead.

Although in the preferred embodiment the adapter 10 includes integrallymolded flexible cantilever arms 40, if desired, in other alternativeembodiments, other types of fasteners such as a flexible clip shown anddescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,663 may be used. Recesses may beprovided on the main body 12 and the cover panels 32 to permit the useof alternative fastener means such as the flexible clip.

Also, in other embodiments of the adapter, the tabs may be longer andinclude fastener openings. As such, screws or similar fasteners may beused to connect the fiber optic adapter to a bulkhead structure.

The attachment structures discussed herein are non-limiting examples andother removable or non-removable fastening structures such as snapfasteners, rivets, etc. may be used to attach adapter to a bulkheadstructure.

Now referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, as discussed above, the fiber opticadapter main body 12 and at least a portion of the internal ferrulealignment features 31 of the adapter 10 are injection-molded as aunitary piece, and cover panels 32 are used to cover the first andsecond openings 28, 30 after the adapter 10 has been molded. In FIGS. 5and 6, the internal ferrule alignment components 31 of the SC-typeadapter 10 are shown via cross-sectional views. Also, although theinternal ferrule alignment features 31 are molded integrally with themain body 12 of the fiber optic adapter 10, FIG. 1A illustrates theinternal ferrule alignment features of the fiber optic adapter of FIG. 1separately from the main body of the fiber optic adapter for ease ofdescription and clarity.

The internal ferrule alignment structures 31 include a sleeve mount 50and a ferrule sleeve 52 that is designed to be inserted within thesleeve mount 50. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the sleeve mount 50 ismolded integrally with the adapter body 12 and is configured to alignthe ferrules 104 of two SC-type fiber optic connectors 100 (FIG. 7)received from opposing ends of the adapter body 12 for interconnection.

The sleeve mount 50 includes latching hooks 54, an axial bore 56, andflexible arms 58 defined around the axial bore 56. Once the sleeve mount50 is molded integrally with the main body 12 of the adapter 10, theferrule sleeve 52 is received within the axial bore 56 of the sleevemount 50. The flexible arms 58 flex out radially to receive the sleeve52 with a snap fit arrangement. The flexible arms 58 include inwardlyextending fingers 60 for capturing the sleeve 52 within the axial bore56 once the sleeve 52 is received therein (see FIGS. 5 and 6). Thesleeve 52 can be inserted into the axial bore 56 from either end of thesleeve mount 50. In certain embodiments, the sleeve 52 may also includea slit for allowing the sleeve 52 to compress, elastically reducing itsdiameter during insertion into the axial bore 56.

It should be noted that the flexible arms 58 located at one end of thesleeve mount 50 may be positioned at an offset relationship to theflexible arms 58 located at the other end of the sleeve mount 50. Inthis manner, the inwardly extending fingers 60 may be molded withmolds/tools that are pulled apart from the ends of the fiber opticadapter in the longitudinal direction. During the molding process, thefirst and second openings 28, 30 (see FIGS. 2-3) allow certain featuresof the adapter 10 to be molded with molds/tools that are pulled apart inthe transverse direction while features such as the inwardly extendingfingers 60 are formed with molds/tools that pulled apart in thelongitudinal direction of the fiber optic adapter 10.

Still referring to FIGS. 1A, 5 and 6, the latching hooks 54 areconfigured to cooperate with the housing 106 of an SC-type connector 100and are used for releasably latching connectors 100 to the adapter 10,as will be described in further detail below.

Referring to FIGS. 4-6, located on the interior of main body 12 areridges 62, extending longitudinally within the axial cavity 14 along theinterior corners of the axial cavity 14. The ridges 62 cooperate withthe outer surface of a fiber optic connector housing 106 to receive theconnector 100 within the axial cavity 14. In certain embodiments, theridges 62 may include ramped entry surfaces to facilitate insertion ofthe connector 100 within the adapter cavity 14.

The main body 12 of the adapter 10 and the sleeve mount 50 may beconstructed of a polymer by an injection molding process. It iscontemplated that other materials and other molding processes may beused for the construction of the fiber optic adapter 10.

FIG. 7 shows an SC-type fiber optic connector 100 that may be used withthe fiber optic adapter 10 shown in FIG. 1-6. Connector 100 includes anoptical fiber 108 which is held therein by a ferrule 104. The end ofoptical fiber is located on a contact face 110 of the ferrule 104.Ferrule 104 is held within a housing 106 of the connector 100. Thehousing 106 includes a first inner portion 112 and an axially slidableouter portion 114. The housing 106 defines two slots 116 on oppositesides thereof and a key 102 located on a side perpendicular to the sidescontaining the slots 116. As discussed previously, the key 102 isconfigured to engage the keyway 34 of fiber optic adapter main body 12to properly position connector 100 through the first opening 28 of theadapter 10. When properly positioned within the axial cavity 14 ofadapter 10, the ferrule 104 is received within the ferrule sleeve 52inside the sleeve mount 50 of the adapter 10.

As is known in the art, when a first connector 100 is fully insertedinto the adapter 10, the flexible latching hooks 54 of the sleeve mount50 of the adapter engage the slots 116 in the outer portion 114 of theconnector housing 106 to releasably hold connector 100 within the axialcavity 14 of adapter 10. When a second connector 100 is inserted intothe opposing side of adapter 10, an optical connection is formed betweenthe optical fiber of the first connector 100 and the optical fiber ofthe second connector 100 through the abutting contact faces 110 of theferrules 114 within the ferrule sleeve 52.

When removing one of the fiber optic connectors 100, the slidable outerportion 114 of the connector housing 106 is slid axially relative to thefirst inner portion 112 of the connector housing 106 away from theopposing connector until the flexible latching hooks 54 of the adapter10 are released from the slots 116 defined on the housing 106 of theconnector 100, as is known in the art.

As discussed previously, the illustrated embodiment shows an SC-typefiber optic adapter 10 for receiving SC-type fiber optic connectors 100.It is anticipated that the inventive features of the present disclosurecan be utilized with other types, sizes and designs of adapters andconnectors.

Although in the foregoing description of the fiber optic adapter 10,terms such as “top”, “bottom”, “upper”, “lower”, “front”, “back”,“right”, and “left” were used for ease of description and illustration,no restriction is intended by such use of the terms. The fiber opticadapter 10 can be used in any orientation.

Having described the preferred aspects and embodiments of the presentdisclosure, modifications and equivalents of the disclosed concepts mayreadily occur to one skilled in the art. However, it is intended thatsuch modifications and equivalents be included within the scope of theclaims which are appended hereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of manufacturing a fiber optic adapterfor interconnecting two fiber optic connectors in coaxial alignment,each connector including a generally cylindrical ferrule holding an endof an optical fiber, wherein the adapter includes a main body with anaxial cavity defined by a top side-wall, a bottom side-wall, a rightside-wall, and a left side-wall, the axial cavity extending between afirst opening defined at a first end of the main body and a secondopening defined at a second end of the main body, the first endconfigured to receive a first fiber optic connector through the firstopening, and the second end configured to receive a second fiber opticconnector through the second opening for mating with the first fiberoptic connector, wherein the adapter also includes a ferrule alignmentstructure including a sleeve mount for receiving a ferrule-alignmentsleeve, the sleeve mount defining a first end, a second end, and acenter portion, wherein the first end of the sleeve mount is positionedtoward the first end of the main body and the second end of the sleevemount is positioned toward the second end of the main body, the sleevemount defining an axial bore that defines a longitudinal axis extendingfrom the first end of the sleeve mount toward the second end of thesleeve mount, the axial bore configured to receive and coaxially alignthe ferrules of the fiber connectors when the fiber connectors areinserted into the adapter, wherein the sleeve mount includes a firstportion extending from the center portion of the sleeve mount toward thefirst end of the sleeve mount and a second portion extending from thecenter portion of the sleeve mount toward the second end of the sleevemount, each of the first and second portions defining an inwardlyextending finger for capturing the ferrule-alignment sleeve within theaxial bore once the sleeve is received within the bore, the methodcomprising: molding the main body of the fiber optic adapter and thesleeve mount as a unitary structure.
 2. A method according to claim 1,further comprising using a molding tool for molding the main body andthe sleeve mount of the fiber optic adapter such that parts of themolding tool are pulled apart from the first and second ends of the mainbody along a direction of the longitudinal axis.
 3. A method accordingto claim 2, wherein the sleeve mount includes at least three flexiblearms.
 4. A method according to claim 1, further comprising inserting aferrule-alignment sleeve into the axial bore of the sleeve mount fromone of the first end and the second end of the sleeve mount.
 5. A methodaccording to claim 4, wherein the ferrule-alignment sleeve is insertedwithin the axial bore after the main body and the sleeve mount have beenunitarily molded.
 6. A method according to claim 1, further comprisingmolding the sleeve mount such that at least one of the first portion andthe second portion of the sleeve mount defines flexible arms definedaround the axial bore of the sleeve mount for receiving aferrule-alignment sleeve, the flexible arms configured to flex outradially to receive the ferrule-alignment sleeve into the axial boreafter the sleeve mount and the main body have been unitarily molded. 7.A method according to claim 1, wherein the main body and the sleevemount are molded out of a polymer.
 8. A method according to claim 1,wherein the adapter includes an outwardly protruding mounting tab oneach of the right side-wall and the left side-wall.
 9. A methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising molding the sleeve mount suchthat the inwardly extending finger of the first portion is positionedaround the axial bore at a peripherally offset relationship with respectto the inwardly extending finger of the second portion along thelongitudinal axis defined by the axial bore.
 10. A method according toclaim 9, further comprising molding three inwardly extending fingers foreach of the first portion and the second portion.
 11. A method accordingto claim 1, wherein the manufactured fiber optic adapter is configuredfor interconnecting two SC type fiber connectors in coaxial alignment.12. A method according to claim 1, further comprising molding the mainbody and the sleeve mount out of a polymer.
 13. A method according toclaim 1, further comprising molding an outwardly protruding mounting tabon each of the right side-wall and the left side-wall of the main body.14. A method according to claim 1, wherein the sleeve mount includes twolatching hooks extending from the center portion of the sleeve mounttoward the first end of the main body and two latching hooks extendingfrom the center portion of the sleeve mount toward the second end of themain body, wherein the latching hooks extending toward the first end ofthe main body are positioned on opposite sides of the axial bore and areconfigured to flex toward and away from each other to releasably latch afirst connector to the adapter, and the latching hooks extending towardthe second end of the main body are positioned on opposite sides of theaxial bore and are configured to flex toward and away from each other toreleasably latch a second connector to the adapter.